![\"waist](\"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/waist-training.jpg\")
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By Aisling O\u2019Connor<\/p>\n
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My mam came home from Dunnes last week in awe that she spotted a corset in the fitness section and couldn\u2019t believe people actually wear them for hours a day to achieve a small waist, but waist training is no new fad. Corsetry has been in Western world for the past 500 years, but in the past year or so waist training has bombarded social media and the fitness world. I\u2019m not buying it.<\/p>\n
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I understand the appeal. The Kardashian\/Jenner sisters Instagram\u2019s are full of selfies in waist trainers and I\u2019d be lying if I said I didn\u2019t envy their figures. I will admit that it can be tempting to jump on the bandwagon when I see perfectly sculpted curves and sigh at fact that my own figure doesn\u2019t resemble an hour glass in the slightest.<\/p>\n
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My main issue with it is that it\u2019s not healthy, despite often being marketed to be. It\u2019s uncomfortable, makes breathing difficult, puts pressure on organs, and can even fracture ribs. Furthermore, they don\u2019t make you lose weight, it just forces the fat elsewhere and once the trainer is off, your body returns to its natural shape. However, what bothers me the most about it is when people who make a career out of fitness through personal training and diet\/exercise programmes endorse them. I\u2019m no doctor, but I don\u2019t believe one should claim to promote health and then promote something that can cause real bodily harm if abused. It just seems hypocritical to me.<\/p>\n
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I feel like fads like this treat our bodies like articles of clothing that can be changed each time a new trend emerges. Remember the thigh gap obsession? I noticed that every now and then gossip magazines put a picture of Beyonc\u00e9 on the cover with the caption \u201cCurves are back\u201d, as if we\u2019ll all decide to gain weight to look like that, and that\u2019s not to say Beyonc\u00e9 isn\u2019t beautiful because let\u2019s face it, she looks like a goddess. Then they immediately go back to providing weight loss tips and suggesting what clothing is slimming. All bodies come in different shapes and sizes, you can\u2019t change it like you can change clothes. What\u2019s going to be next?<\/p>\n
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If my body simply isn\u2019t a certain shape, why force it to be something it may physically be incapable of being? I may never look like Kylie Jenner and that\u2019s okay. I\u2019ll do my squats and eat my veggies and that\u2019s good enough for me.<\/p>\n